Otterbein's campus is looking drastically different this fall with the final construction of the new dormitory 25 W. Home, the continued renovations at McFadden-Schear Hall and the equine facility renovations. Last week, 200 students made 25 W. Home their new home, leaving quite a few rooms around campus empty including the ground level in Clements Hall and the first floor in Hanby, according to Tracy Benner, the director of residence life. This dormitory is unique in that this is the first year freshmen are living in suite style housing, according to Benner, and "it is coming as quite a surprise to some of them as they are learning they have to buy their own toilet paper and clean their bathroom every once in a while." This "Living, Learning, Service Community" will have "one faculty member of the education and nursing departments come to the dorm to have an informal advising session once a week," said Benner. The sessions will be held in two of the five developing resource rooms. The empty resource rooms will be developed for other specialty fields at a later time. "I really do think that the resource rooms and class advising sessions will be a great advantage for the students living there if they take advantage of them," said 25 W. Home's Hall Director and Assistant Director for the Center for Community Engagement, Chris Hempfling. "The board of trustees will establish a name at a later date for the dormitory currently called '25 W. Home'," Benner said. The new dormitory will be sharing some of its external structure with the partially finished business office. "We are working with the architects to finalize a construction plan, so our hope is that the business office will be open at the beginning of January," said Hempfling. Other changes are happening around campus, including the construction of the Schear Hall Science Building. "Over the summer we had some exterior structural issues that set us back a bit, but we're caught up and back on schedule now and planning to be finished in February, 2009," said David Bell, director of physical plant and telecommunications. The exterior of the building is 95% done and the steel erection is 90-95% completed, leaving the interior only around 30% finished, according to Bell. Bob Gatti, vice president for Student Affairs, said the building is progressing on schedule and will open spring quarter of 2009. "I am really looking forward to being in an actual building. It is extremely frustrating in the temporary setup to have a lack of chemicals, equipment, and other supplies; so I can't wait until we don't have to constantly transport everything," said junior biochemistry major Brian Colopy. Although located slightly off campus, Otterbein is also anticipating the opening of the new Equine Facility in July, 2009. Progress is steady with the building structure delivered this week and the waterline recently being installed, according to Bell. "We're hoping to see structure in the next two to three weeks." "I think this new facility will benefit both the Otterbein and Westerville communities, as it will be bigger and more modern. Students will be able to learn better being able to study in the a barn," said junior psychology major Sammi Johansen. So far, "everything we're doing has been on or below budget," with no serious problem for any of them, said Bell. t&c;
Newest dorm opens, other projects still on schedule
More
